Fantasy Baseball Opening Day Preview: Biggest questions and answers for all 30 teams

We're about to get answers. So many answers. Answers to some questions we didn't even know we had. 

That's the most exciting thing about the start of the MLB season. We spend all offseason asking questions, and we get some answers during the Hot Stove season, and some more during the spring. But most of our biggest questions can't be answered until the games start and actually count. And we're oh-so close. 

The MLB season kicks off tomorrow with the Yankees and Giants playing in a prime-time matchup in San Francisco, and then most of the rest of the league joins them on Thursday; by Friday, all 30 teams will have played at least once. By the weekend, we'll have seen every team's lineups, and at least a few closer situations will be resolved by then. 

But right now, we're still in the fog of uncertainty. Rosters haven't been finalized. We're going to learn about some unexpected injuries in the next 48 hours or so, and we're going to learn about the results of a whole bunch of spring training battles that are still, somehow, up in the air. We're going to get answers, and today's newsletter is all about finding the right questions. With Opening Day looming, here's the biggest question for each team to open the season: 

The biggest question for all 30 teams

Arizona Diamondbacks - Can Zac Gallen bounce back?

If you're looking for a reason to be optimistic, Gallen averaged 94.2 mph with his four-seamer this spring – he hasn't been above 94 mph since 2022, when he had a 2.54 ERA over 31 starts. I'm not saying he'll be that good again, but the Diamondbacks do need a return to form from Gallen, and I feel more optimistic about that after seeing the increased velocity, even if the results weren't great. 

Atlanta Braves - When does Didier Fuentes get a chance?

It seemingly won't happen to start the season, as Fuentes is slated to start the season in a long-relief role before moving back to the minors to be stretched out sometime early in the season, even after Spencer Strider's season-opening IL stint. Fuentes isn't even 21 yet and threw just 70 innings last season, so the Braves will obviously be pretty careful with him. But after a spring run that saw him strike out 17 without allowing a walk or hit in nine innings of work, there's a chance he just makes himself indispensable and works his way into the rotation ala Strider in 2022. 

Baltimore Orioles - Can Coby Mayo take advantage of this opportunity?

This might be the last one. The former top prospect has failed to take advantage of his previous opportunities, but with Jordan Westburg dealing with a torn UCL in his elbow, Mayo figures to get at least a month of run to prove himself. He hit .389/.400/.639 this spring with a 91.1 mph average exit velocity, a glimpse of the kind of upside he was supposed to hold. I've added him where I can this spring, and I'll give him April to see if he can finally figure it out. 

Boston Red Sox - How long until the young arms get a chance?

The Red Sox haven't announced whether Connelly Early will be in the rotation, but since he'll be on the Opening Day roster, I don't think it'll be long before he's in the rotation, no matter what. But it might be as soon as the first week of the season, so go make sure he isn't already rostered in your league after he broke out in 2025 en route to a successful 19.1-inning cup of coffee with the big-league club. And then there's Payton Tolle, who some prospect analysts like even more than Early thanks to his potentially dominant fastball. The Red Sox don't exactly have a need in the rotation right now, but that never stays true for long, does it? The problem for Tolle is that he might need two people ahead of him to falter to get a chance. It'll happen, but it might take a little while. 

Chicago White Sox - Can Munetaka Murakami make enough contact?

The power is real, but contact concerns led to Murakami signing for a significantly smaller contract than expected. He had a 39.5% whiff rate this spring between Cactus League and World Baseball Classic action, and that's a tough hurdle to overcome – Javier Baez in 2021 was the only player in the past five seasons to have a whiff rate higher in a season, and while he did have an .813 OPS that season, things have fallen apart for him since. Murakami will have to be an outlier power hitter to be relevant with those kinds of swing-and-miss issues. 

Chicago Cubs - Was the second half a sign of things to come for Pete Crow-Armstrong?

Based on the long-term contract conversations ongoing between the two sides, the Cubs sure don't seem to be too concerned about Crow-Armstrong's second-half slump. My bigger concern might be Crow-Armstrong's struggles against lefties – he hit just .188/.217/.376 against lefties in 2025, and his 83.9 mph average exit velocity suggests he might have been lucky to even hit seven homers off southpaws. Even if he doesn't slump quite as badly as he did after the All-Star break, platoon splits that extreme could sink him. 

Cincinnati Reds - Was Matt McLain's spring for real?

Of the 71 players who had at least a 1.000 OPS this spring, seven of them were on the Reds, who just feasted on subpar pitching in the explosive offensive environment of the Cactus League. No one was better than McLain, who had a 1.591 OPS and seven homers … in 56 plate appearances. I'm not saying there's nothing here, but the sample size is still extremely small in a very favorable offensive environment. I've moved McLain up in my rankings, but I remain skeptical. 

Cleveland Guardians - Can Chase DeLauter stay healthy?

He hasn't shown the ability so far, playing just 138 games in the minors since he was drafted in 2022. That's a real reason to be skeptical. But here are some reasons to be optimistic: He walked more often than he struck out this spring while posting a 93.6 mph average exit velocity and 115.3 mph max EV, borderline elite marks. For all the time he has missed, DeLauter still receives high marks from scouts despite a funky swing, and I'm still extremely excited to see him finally ready to make his MLB debut. 

Colorado Rockies - Will any of their retreads work? 

Edouard Julien. Jake McCarthy. Willi Castro. Mickey Moniak. If you're a baseball sicko, these names may mean something to you. The Rockies are going to be terrible, but I think they have a decent chance to be at least interesting offensively if a few of these guys (plus the likes of TJ Rumfield, Kyle Karros, and eventually Zac Veen) hit. Except to see them on early-season sleeper hitter lists when the Rockies are at home, at least. 

Detroit Tigers - Will Kevin McGonigle get the chance?

The Tigers haven't announced their intentions with McGonigle one way or the other, and I think that mostly implies that he's going to be in the Opening Day lineup. But it isn't a guarantee right now, despite hitting a 144 wRC+ with more walks (11) than strikeouts (eight) this spring. We'll know soon enough, but given the way McGonigle has played this spring and the way the Tigers made basically no effort to upgrade the left side of their infield entering the final season of Tarik Skubal's club control, I think the plan has always been for McGonigle to be there on Opening Day. 

Houston Astros - How will they find playing time for everyone? 

If Jeremy Pena (finger) isn't ready, it'll be pretty easy. But that's a pretty big "if" right now, and it won't be a permanent solution either way. Injuries will happen to clear up some of the logjam, but the fundamental issue here is that the Astros just don't have room for all of Carlos Correa, Isaac Paredes, and Christian Walker across their two corner infield spots. They'll try to get creative by asking Jose Altuve or Yordan Alvarez to play the outfield occasionally, but I think this could end up being a headache until someone gets hurt or cast off. 

Kansas City Royals - How do the new ballpark dimensions play?

Mike Petriello at MLB.com ran the numbers earlier in the offseason and found that there would be, on average, around 46 extra home runs per season at Kauffman Stadium from 2021 through 2025 with the new dimensions. That's not nothing, but the impact on individual players might not be as easy to define as you might think – we're talking about relatively small samples to begin with, and while certain players' swings might be more or less geared toward taking advantage of the new dimensions, randomness will still play an inordinately large role in the distribution of those homers. Which is why, while I'm generally a bit more optimistic about the Royals offense, I didn't really move any specific hitters up in the rankings after they announced the ballpark changes. 

Los Angeles Angels - Can we get one more vintage Mike Trout season?

I'm getting real 2025 Byron Buxton vibes from Trout right now. It's little more than a hunch, but it's a hunch with some basis in reality. Like Buxton a year ago, Trout will be making his full-time return to center field this season, and he seems to be moving a lot better, hitting 30 feet per second on a sprint earlier this spring for the first time since early in 2024, before his multiple meniscus tears in his knee. Trout didn't exactly set the world on fire this spring, but the fact that he's feeling and moving better than he has in a while makes me like his chances of at least one more big season from the future Hall-of-Famer. 

Los Angeles Dodgers - Can Roki Sasaki figure anything out?

I am decidedly not optimistic. He made his final tune-up start of the spring Monday against the Angels, and it was just as disastrous as the rest of his spring – he walked six while recording six outs, giving up five runs. He has his fastball velocity back, but he just cannot command the pitch well enough to overcome its poor shape, and the rest of his arsenal, besides his splitter, hasn't developed at all. At this point, I'm not sure Sasaki is one of the Dodgers seven best pitchers. 

Miami Marlins - Can the pitching staff bounce back? 

My expectations are high for a Sandy Alcantara bounce back, while basically everyone has Eury Perez pegged as one of the most obvious breakouts in baseball. And there's plenty of talent beyond them, though the Opening Day rotation may not reflect that – after Max Meyer, you've got pretty boring types like Chris Paddack and Janson Junk filling out the rotation. But we'll see Braxton Garrett, Robby Snelling, and eventually, Thomas White in the big leagues at some point, probably in the first half, and this could very quickly become one of the most exciting pitching staffs in baseball. 

Milwaukee Brewers - Which of the young pitchers can step up?

All eyes are on Opening Day starter Jacob Misiorowski and his turbo stuff, but he certainly isn't alone. He'll be joined in the rotation by Brandon Sproat and Kyle Harrison, with Quinn Priester and Logan Henderson looming. The Brewers have a well-earned reputation for putting the finishing touches on their pitchers better than just about any organization in baseball, and it's usually worth betting on them figuring it out. I'm especially interested to see if Harrison's new changeup can fundamentally alter an arsenal that has lacked a third pitch for years. 

Minnesota Twins - Can Mick Abel carry his hot spring over?

Abel's big spring didn't come out of nowhere. He was a first-round pick and a top prospect at one point. But his prospect star has taken a hit in recent years, and he had a 6.23 ERA in 39 MLB innings last season, so skepticism is a reasonable response here. He was dominant this spring, and if he can pitch at an above-average level, that would go a long way for a Twins team desperate for some kind of path forward as they begin their rebuild. 

New York Yankees - Can Ryan Weathers finally make a leap?

Weathers has gotten an awful lot of hype over the past three offseasons for a guy whose career high in fWAR is 1.1. Injuries have been the primary issue, but it's not like his performances have been incredible – even amid a massive rise in fastball velocity and overall stuff, he has just a 3.74 ERA and 4.08 xERA over the past two seasons. He saw his fastball velocity tick up to 98 mph this spring, but he also tweaked his pitch mix, throwing fewer four-seamers and more sinkers and sliders. There's upside here, I just don't know how much. 

New York Mets - Can Kodai Senga bounce back?

Things have really gone south for Senga since his successful rookie season, but he spent his offseason working on his mechanics and got his average fastball velocity up to 96.1 mph this spring, higher than any of his prior MLB seasons. I've never been a huge believer in Senga, but I've seen enough in a limited sample this spring to at least think he's worth a late-round flier – and he's available in 26% of CBS Fantasy leagues, so go check if yours is one of them. 

Athletics - Can they develop some pitching?

The lineup looks pretty good, but the pitching staff remains a huge question, especially in that bandbox ballpark. But they aren't without talent on the pitching side. Luis Severino showed up this spring throwing harder than he has in years, Luis Morales is an interesting young starter with some upside, and Jacob Lopez is the right kind of weird to befuddle pitchers, ala Andrew Abbott's unconventional success over the past few years. And with Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold in the high minors, the A's might find themselves with enough pitching to compete soon.  

Philadelphia Phillies - Can Andrew Painter live up to the hype?

Well, the hype has largely fizzled since Painter's return from Tommy John surgery last season, and his spring has been met with mixed reviews. There's still above-average velocity and a deep arsenal here, but the fastball shape and command have backed up significantly from where he was pre-injury, as his 6.2 K/9 this spring suggests. The results were still fine from a run prevention standpoint, and Painter is talented enough to at least be worth keeping an eye on in April. But it'd be nice to see some flashes of real upside again, because we haven't really seen that from him since 2022. 

Pittsburgh Pirates - Is Oneil Cruz ready to live up to the hype?

I've largely given up on Cruz, and I think at this point you can basically only count on him for stolen bases in Fantasy. But the talent is so obvious that it's easy to see how I could be wrong, and the Pirates are almost certainly going to give him at least one more chance to prove me wrong. It's going to come down to his performance against lefties – if he can just keep his head above water, he should hit righties well enough. He put in a lot of work this offseason against lefties, but if he doesn't at least hold his own (something like a .700 OPS) against them early on, I think there's real risk of Cruz falling into a platoon relatively quickly. 

San Diego Padres - Is there enough pitching here? 

They've got Randy Vasquez, German Marquez, and Walker Buehler in the rotation in 2026, so probably not. But man, I'm intrigued by Marquez. In a 15-team league sense for now, but I'm open to the possibility of there being more there. His spring wasn't great overall, but he did miss a ton of bats, including 23 strikeouts in 16.1 innings of work – and that featured a whopping 18 swinging strikes on his curveball alone in Monday's final tuneup start against the Mariners. Marquez toiled in Coors Field for such a long time, but I'm hoping the move to a much more pitcher-friendly environment can help unlock the upside he once showed. 

San Francisco Giants - How long until Bryce Eldridge is ready? 

Eldridge was optioned back to Triple-A over the weekend and responded by homering in two straight games. He didn't do enough this spring to earn a job – thanks in large part to a 38% strikeout rate – but he's still a big-time prospect who has already gotten his feet wet in the majors last season. If he gets off to a hot start at Sacramento, don't be surprised if he makes it back to the majors in a couple of weeks. 

Seattle Mariners - Will Josh Naylor keep running?

Naylor is coming off one of the most shocking 30-steal seasons in history, and 19 of them came in a 54-game stretch. Because 162 is divisible by 54 three times, it's easy enough to see that Naylor managed a 57-steal pace after arriving with the Mariners. And he stole two more bases this spring despite only reaching base six times in nine games. Yeah, this might still be a big part of his game, somehow. 

St. Louis Cardinals - Will Ivan Herrera play any catcher? 

The Cardinals are still talking about Herrera like a catcher, and they've used him behind the plate a bit this spring when healthy. The problem is he just hasn't shown he can stand up to the rigors of catching regularly while staying healthy, and his bat might just be too valuable to risk not having in the lineup. They've also experimented with Herrera in the outfield and at first base, and either might be the better long-term option if they don't want to relegate him to full-time DH duties. I think the bat is good enough to be worth using in Fantasy even if he's DH-only, but I do want to see Herrera get at least some reps behind the plate – let's say at least five, so he gains eligibility there. And it sounds like he's going to get that chance. 

Tampa Bay Rays - What does Shane McClanahan have left?

The results – 2.08 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 13 innings of work – looked like vintage McClanahan. But he didn't actually look like vintage McClanahan, averaging 2-3 mph less on his four-seamer than he did back in 2023, before a series of arm injuries. The results were what they were, and that's reason to be hopeful. But I'm not optimistic that McClanahan can truly be an ace without an elite fastball, and right now, I'm not sure he even has a good one. I'm pulling for him, but my expectations aren't terribly high, unfortunately. 

Texas Rangers - Can Mackenzie Gore take a leap?

More than anything, we just wanted to see Gore get a change of scenery and some new voices in his ear. The Rangers have had some success developing pitchers in recent years, certainly more than the Nationals, and Gore has never lacked for talent – he has an entire five-pitch mix full of swing-and-miss stuff. But consistency and execution have held him back, and that's what we're hoping the Rangers can help him with. He's toying with a new look for his slider and has been throwing a sinker this spring, and I remain hopeful the Rangers can coax some better outcomes out of him. 

Toronto Blue Jays - How long until Trey Yesavage is ready? 

There are certainly some other questions here – "Will Shane Bieber ever be healthy?" "Was Daulton Varsho and George Springer's 2025 breakouts for real?" – but I think Yesavage's status is the one most Fantasy players are interested in. He has the look of a future ace, but he was slow-played this spring while dealing with a shoulder injury and will open the season on the IL. The Blue Jays were already looking for ways to manage his early-season innings, but if he's back and pitching like a normal starter by the end of April, there won't be much to worry about. But how serious was that shoulder injury? 

Washington Nationals - Can James Wood make enough contact? 

He sure didn't in the second half of last season, when he slumped to a .223/.301/.388 line while striking out 39% of the time. And he didn't really do it this spring, hitting .136/.240/.273 with a 34% strikeout rate. Wood hits the ball incredibly hard, but he doesn't optimize the contact he makes well enough, hitting too many hard grounders or opposite-field fly balls to really live up to his 70-grade power. And those issues become magnified by his struggles to make contact. It's still a relatively small sample size of that depth of struggle, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't been scared off of drafting him on multiple occasions this spring.